Disposal unit and method



May 23, 1967 L. L. DUNCAN DISPOSAL UNIT AND METHOD 6 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Sept. 15, 1964 4 NVENTOR LEON DUNCAN wary, war/ ORNEYS L. L.DUNCAN May 23, 1967 DISPOSAL UNIT AND METHOD 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledSept. 15, 1964 NVENTOR LEON DUNCAN BY 777 ATTORNEYS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5I... L. DUNCAN May 23, 1967 DISPOSAL UNIT AND METHOD Filed Sept. 15,1964 May 23, 1967 l... 1.. DUNCAN DISPOSAL UNIT AND METHOD 6Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 15, 1964 INVENTOR LEON DUNCAN May 23, 1967 L.L. DUNCAN DISPOSAL UNIT AND METHOD 6 Sheets-Sheet Filed Sept. 15, 1964INVENTOR LEON DUNCAN BY H aw /$142M TTORNEYS May 23,

Filed Sept. 15, 1964 6 Sheets-$heet 6 A.C. 76\ l a c i 6 LQ DOOR CLOSE vLIMITSWITCH 84- ao {7a is? THERMO- DOOR OPEN mew TEMP TIME LIMIT SWITCHLIMIT SWITCH CONTROL SWITCH T52 r35 r87 {2 SAFETY WATER. FAN DOOR MOTORSWITCH SOLENGID 79 (75 TIME DELAY GAS swrrcu SOLENOlD F :1. MU.

c. 76,W 0A 0- 1 {B9 r81 r092 THERMO- DOOR OPEN DOOR. CLOSE TIME LIMIIT MSWITCH LIMIT SWITCH LIMIT swrrcn SWITCH :52 i {J l r2 HIGH TEMP. WATER.FAN DOOR MOTOR CONTROL SOLENOID L m l Lg l r79 TIME DELAY r87 86 76SW'TCH SAFETY RELAY TIME FLAME SWITCH DELAY seuson.

GAS SOLENOID 7/ INVENTOR A LEO/V DUNCAN ATTORNEYS United States Patentaszaaev DISPOSAL UNIT AND NIETHOD Leon L. Duncan, Rainbow Drive,Washington, Mo. 630% Filed Sept. 15, 1964, Ser. No. 356,543 20 Claims.(Cl. 110-9) This invention relates to a toilet unit for the disposal ofhuman excrement. More specifically, it relates to a novel combination ofelements for the incineration of waste material by combustion wherein aminimal amount of liquid is provided for cleansing the toilet bowl withthe combustion chamber so constructed that solid waste material isreceived on a grate above the bottom of the chamber with the liquid usedfor flushing purposes and liquid excreta being collected on the bottom.By such means the bottom of the combustion chamber is protected againstexcessive temperature by the liquid layer while the intervening solidwaste material is disposed of by burning.

Toilet facilities of a conventional type which employ water to flushwaste materials have many advantages and are usually effective andeconomical. Moreover, there are no undue safety problems. However,conventional facilities have the disadvantage that generally aconsiderable amount of water is required to flush the waste material andthat more or less extensive sewerage facilities are required. In thoseinstances where there is a lack of water suitable for flushing, or wherewater is scarce or the use of such water in the required amounts isuneconomical, and in places where sewerage facilities are not reasonablyavailable, or are undesirable, an incinerating type of toilet isadvantageous. Such toilet also has distinct advantages in movingvehicles such as airplanes, trains, and buses. However, knownincinerating toilets are burdened with many disadvantages whichadversely affect their popularity. A major disadvantage lies in thesafety problems which arise due to the presence of a combustible fueland the high temperature required to burn the waste materialscompletely, and because of the electrical equipment and connections inthe unit. Thus expensive apparatus is frequently required or the unit isless safe than it should be. Another disadvantage is that when flushwater is used with an incinerating toilet, it has been found generallynecessary either to evaporate the water initially or to agitate and mixthe solid waste material with the water prior to the combustionoperaion. On the other hand, if flush water is not used, in time thetoilet bowl may give off foul odors unless the unit receives much morefrequent and thorough cleaning than necessary with conventional toilets.Or, alternatively, expensive paper receptacles or the like arenecessary.

Despite the foregoing disadvantages, there is a great need in the worldcommunity for an incinerating type toilet which would utilize minimalamounts of water and compare favorably with the conventional watercloset in safety, convenience and economies. The elimination ofexpensive sewerage facilities permits the expansion of uprbancommunities into areas otherwise 'unsuitable. It

'is estimated that if entire cities might be" converted to total wastedisposal units as contemplated in this invention, the savings in waterconsumption would be between 25 and 95 percent.

It is considered that that a successful unit should have the followingadvantages:

(1) The unit must be safe to use under all conditions.

(2) The gases discharged from the exhaust of the unit should beinoffensive and not pollute the surrounding air.

(3) The units disposal of excreta must be effective and complete.

(4) The unit should be efficient so that the necessary time lapsebetween uses is minimal.

(5 The unit should be inexpensive:

(a) to buy; (b) to operate; and (c) to maintain.

(6) The unit should be compact and occupy a minimal amount of space.

(7)The unit must be dependable over a relatively long length of timewith materials that hold up.

(8) What cleaning is necessary should be simple to accomplish andinfrequently required; and

(9) Undue odors should not emanate from the unit.

Unfortunately, known solutions for some of the foregoing requirementsare often not compatible with others. For example, while the problem ofpollution and offensive gaseous discharge may be solved by chemicaltreatment or filtration, this adds to the expense of the unit and alsotends to enlarge the unit. unduly. Reduction of the time lapse betweenuses may be solved by providing that the combustion is at a place remotefrom the unit whereby excrement is conveyed to the combustion chamber.While there are certain advantages to this arrangement, compactness ofthe unit is necessarily sacrificed. Also, generally the unit will bemore expansive. Still further, the cleaning of the conveying unitprovides problems which have not been fully solved.

It will be appreciated that the requirements set forth under items (2),(3,) and (4) above may be met by provision for a complete hightemperature combustion of the excreta. But where a complete hightemperature combustion takes place, there are other problems which ariseto limit the structural materials which may be used, add to the expense,lessen the safety factor, and impose a requirement for furtherinsulation-particularly for the compact type of unit. These detrimentshave, however, been minimized by the unique method and constructiondisclosed herein whereby the interior of the combustion chamber isprotected by cleaning liquid and liquid excreta from the intense heatapplied to the solid excreta and whereby the exterior of the combustionchamber is cooled by the induced circulation of air around the chamber.

It is thus an object of this invention to provide a safe compact wastedisposal unit which is inexpensive to manufacture, operate and maintain,and which effects the complete and speedy combustion of human excretawithout the undue discharge of offensive odors in the vicinity of theunit or from the combustion exhaust and wherein the cleaning of the unitafter after each use is effective and simple.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be appreciated by oneskilled in the art from the following description read in conjunctionwith the drawings, of which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the unit partially broken away toshow the interior;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the unit also broken away inpart;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the unit with the after portion broken away;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional front elevational view showing the firebox andair passages of the unit;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of the part shown in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of the part: of the unit shown in FIGURES 4 and5;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the part of the unit shown in FIGURES4, 5, and 6 illustrating the circulation of air within the unit;

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 showing a modified torch assemblywherein a pilot light is used;

FIGURE 9 is a side elevational view of the assembly shown in FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view of the modified torch assembly;

h FIGURE 11 is a wiring diagram for the unit having a gas pilot lightfor ignition; and

FIGURE 12 is a wiring diagram for the unit using an electric spark plugfor ignition.

Referring now to FIGURES 1-3, it will be noted that the unit 16 has asize and shape which. corresponds to the conventional water closet witha toilet cover 11 and toilet seat 12 which are hingea-bly carried by theunit over a toilet bowl 14. In FIGURES l3 certain parts are obviouslyomitted for reason of clarity. For example, in FIGURE 3 the toilet coverand seat are not shown. In FIGURES l and 3, the torch assembly isomitted. The toilet bowl 14 is opened in its lower portion and overliesa removable firebox 15. The toilet bowl 14 is composed of a highlypolished stainless steel or other material resistant to the adhesion ofexcreta. A pair of fire doors 16 are disposed on top of the firebox 15and adapted to be slid opened and closed whereby the interior of thefirebox 15 is placed in communication with the opening at the bottom ofthe toilet bowl 14 when the doors 16 are opened.

A cabinet 17 is carried on the afterpart of the unit 10. The cabinet 17,as may be seen best in FIGURE 3, has a regular cleansing liquid or waterconnection 20 leading therein from a water source under pressure, and anelectric water solenoid 21 which controls the flow of water andconstitutes a shut-off valve for a water hose 22 leading to a waterinlet 24 in the after portion of toilet bowl 14.

A gas inlet connection 25 also leads into the cabinet 17 to a gaspressure regulator 26 which reduces the gas to the desired pressure andsupplies gas to a line 27 leading to the gas torch 30. Disposed in theline 27 between the torch 30 and the gas pressure regulator 26 are anelectric gas solenoid 31 and a shut-off cock including an orifice 32. Atransformer 34 is also carried in the cabinet 17.

The doors 16 are linked to the electric motor 35 by a bar 36 which ismoved forward and backward by lever 38. Each door 16 has connected toits top a pair of studs 40 which engage linkage elements 41 and 42. Bothupper linkage elements 41 and the lower linkage units 42 connect tovertically disposed rods 44 through further studs 45. The vertical rods44 pivot about a horizontal rod 46 which is rigidly secured to the unit10 by bolts 47. The forward end of the bar 36 is also pivotallyconnected to the vertical rods 44 by a horizontal shaft 59. A pair ofL-bars 51 which underlie the doors 16 extend horizontally beyond thefirebox 15 on each side and act both to support and guide the doors 16when they are opened and closed by the linkage elements 41 and 42. Withreference to FIGURE 1, it will thus be noted that when the lever 38turns in a counterclockwise direction, the vertical rods 44 also turn ina counterclockwise direction and the linkage elements 41 and 42 causethe doors 16 to open, whereas when the lever 38 turns in a clockwisedirection the doors 16 are closed by the linkage elements 41 and 42.

The unit 10 carries in its after lower portion air movement meanscomprising a fan element designated generally by reference numeral 52.As may be seen best in FIGURE 6, the fan element 52 comprises a fanmotor 54, an intake fan 55 and exhaust fan 56. It will be understoodthat fans 55 and 56 may be combined as a single fan which carries outthe dual function. The exhaust fan discharges air through a crimpedexhaust connection 57.

As may be seen in FIGURE 4, the firebox 15 includes an outer box-shapedshell 60 and an inner shell 61 which has substantially the shape of aninverted truncated pyramid. Disposed between the outer shell 60 and theinner shell 61 is a space 62 which may be insulation or an air space.The firebox 15 is so carried within the unit 10 that there is spaceprovided for the passage of air under the firebox 15 and On allvertically disposed sides thereof. A grate 64 removably carried by innershell 61 is disposed horizontally across the interior of the firebox 15and is spaced above the bottom of the interior shell 61. A deflectorplate 65 is disposed under the torch 30 and extends between the bottomof the inner shell 61 and the side thereof adjacent to the torch 30. Thedeflector plate 65 is also connected to the grate 64. A curved baffiemember 66 is connected to the deflector plate 65 so as to curve aroundthe lower end of the torch 30 in a manner as shown in FIGURES 4 and 6.

The outer casing spaced around the firebox 15 is designated by referencenumeral 67 and includes, in the upper right-hand portion, as seen inFIGURE 4, an oblique plate 70. The torch 31) extends through an openingin the oblique plate 7 ti downwardly at an angle to inside the curvedbaffie member66. The torch 15 includes an electric sparker 71 for thepurpose of igniting the gas and air mixture which discharge from acarburetor section 72. The sparker 71 normally extends to just insidethe torch tip opening. In practical application, a diameter of inch hasbeen found sufficient for a gas outlet at this point.

Referring particularly to FIGURE 5, it will be noted that a pipeline 74connects the outlet of the air intake fan with the torch 30. Alsoleading into the pipeline 74 is the gas line 27. Accordingly, a mixtureof gas and air are led into the torch from the pipe 74. A removableflame sensor 75 is disposed under and somewhat to one side of the lowerportion of the torch 30.

Having reference now to FIGURE 12, it will be noted that there is apanel switch 76 which, as may be seen in FIGURES l-3, is located in theupper portion of the cabinet 17. it is so placed that when the cover 11is in an upward position and leaning in the direction of the cabinet 17,the panel switch 76 is closed in the position as shown in FIGURE 12.While in such position, the fan 52 continues to run, the door motor 35maintains the doors 16 in an opened position and both the water solenoid21 and the gas solenoid 75 are closed. However, when the cover 11 isclosed, the switch 76 is resiliently moved to the left (by means notshown) from point of reference of FIGURE 12. The high temperaturecontrol switch 78 which is located in the line immediately after thedoor limit switch 81 is normally in a closed position and stays such aslong as the temperature within the firebox is less than 800 F. However,the high temperature control switch 78 is connected to a hightemperature control probe 77 located in the upper portion of the fireboxand when the temperature in that portion of the firebox rises to 800 F.,the circuit is broken by opening of the high temperature control switch78. Once tripped, the switch 78 remains open until reset by the closingof the door limit switch til). The fan 52 has three connections inparallel, any of which will cause it to run. Thus it will be noted thatthere is a connection through the panel switch 76, a connection throughthe thermal switch 84, and a connection through the time delay switch 79to the fan 52. The time delay switch 79 will, when the panel switch 76opens to the left re main in a closed position for a predeterminedlength of timesay, three minutes. Also, when the panel switch 76 is inits outward or left position, having reference to FIGURE 12, with thecover 11 down, the electric current passes through the door close switch81 to the door motor 35 causing the doors 16 to close until the limitswitch is opened, at which time the door motor 35 is deactuated. Whenthe switch 81 opens for the door motor it simultaneously closes toactuate the relay time delay 86 to introduce and ignite gas in thefirebox 15. In addition, as the panel switch 76 goes to its outwardposition, immediately the time limit switch 82 is actuated to open thewater solenoid 21 for approximately one second, which permits somewhatless than four ounces of water or other cleansing liquid to beintroduced under pressure from the water outlet 24 to clean the bowl 14.If desired, the time limit switch 82 may be connected to the door openswitch 80 to ensure that the introduction of water takes place whiledoors 16 are open. The water immediately drains into the interior of thefirebox 15 and when the doors 16 are closed and the relay time delayswitch 86 is actuated, the electric sparker 71 ignites gas emitted fromthe torch 30. The flame sensor 76 closes the circuit and after apredetermined length of timeusually approximately 90 seconds-the relaytime delay switch 86 opens thereby causing the sparker to discontinueand the flame from the torch 30 in the firebox continues until the gassolenoid 75 is deactivated. A safety switch 87 is placed on the line tothe gas solenoid 75. The safety switch 87 is controlled by one orseveral probes within the unit to cause the solenoid to open andtherefore shut off the gas at what might be considered a dangeroustemperature,

say, 220 F.

Air from the intake fan 55 is forced into the torch 30 under pressureand an intense hot flame is emitted from the lower end of the torch 30.This flame is deflected by the curved baffle member 66 towards thedeflector plate 65. In the bottom of the firebox 15 will be the flushwater plus any liquid excreta. This layer of liquid, however, will belargely protected from the direct blast of the flame which isconcentrated under the grate and tends to rise or exhaust from the unit.While some evaporation will occur in the liquid in the bottom, theinitial eflects of the flame are most pronounced on the solid excretawhich is consumed and absorbs a great deal of the heat of the flame. Theexcreta with moisture content being essentially endothermic in itsreaction, accordingly tends to repress a rise in temperature within thefirebox. When the solid excreta is consumed, when the temperature withinthe firebox tends to rise, but the attainment of high temperatures isrestrained by the evaporation of the liquid which quickly follows. More-.over, as long as the liquid covers the bottom of the firebox, thisportion of the firebox is protected from the effects of hightemperature. Following evaporation of the liquid, the temperature rises,and soon that portion of the firebox containing the probe 77 reaches 800F.,

at which point the high temperature control switch 78 is set to open andwith electric current cut off from the gas solenoid 75, gas is no longerintroduced into the firebox 15 through the torch 30. The thermal switch84 keeps fan 52 in operation until the exhaust temperature has cooledto, say, 110 F. at which time the fan 52 ceases to operate and the unitis ready for a further disposal cycle.

A unique feature of the unit is that air is circulated on all sides ofthe firebox when the same is in operation. Thus, referring to FIGURES 4and 7, it is to be .seen that air is received through the channelsthrough doors 16 as indicated by the arrow designated 90. The airdischarging from the channels through doors 16 is turned downwardly byoblique plate 70 and mixes with the hot exhaust from the interior of thefirebox 15. This mixture next proceeds horizontally under and on eachside of the firebox 15 as indicated by the arrows 91 in FIGURES 4 and 6.The air is then drawn from the vicinity of the firebox 15 through airduct 92 to the exhaust fan and thence out of the crimped exhaustconnection 57. Air supplied to the interior of the firebox 15 is drawnfrom the interior of unit 10, and thus as long as fan 52 is running, airis drawn into the unit downwardly through bowl 14. The air intake forthe intake fan 56 is located adjacent to the motor 54 so that airentering into the fan tends to keep the motor shaft cool. The air isconveyed from the inlet fan 55 through the pipeline 74 into the gastorch 30 with the gas entering into the pipeline 74 through the gas line27 as shown in FIGURE 5. Complete mixing takes place in the carburetorsection 72 following which the mixture is preheated by the gases ofcombustion leaving the interior of the firebox, and, as noted before,the flame enters the firebox 15 wherein it is guided by the curvedbaffle member 66 and the deflector plate 65 to produce an intense heatunder and in the vicinity of the solid excreta on the grate 64.

The components of the unit 10 are of types well known to be dependableover a comparatively long life span. A major item of wear is the firebox15 which will, after several years of fairly heavy usage, accumulate adeposit in the interior which adversely affects its performance. Forthis reason, the firebox 15 is removable, so that it can easily be takenfrom the unit and a new element placed in its stead. The old element canthen be reconditioned by known techniques and serve a further usefullife. It is believed that with minimum maintenance, the unit asdisclosed herein will have a serviceable life comparable to the averageconventional water closet.

FIGURES 811 disclose a modified torch 94 which employs a gas pilot light95. The same reference numerals have been used for similar componentswhere applicable. The pilot light 95 is fed by a gas line 96 whichincludes a pilot air adjustment valve 97 to regulate the air intake. Athermocouple tube 100 extends adjacent to the pilot light 95. The gasline 96 is connected into the gas line 27 after the shutoff cock 32, theactual connection not being shown inasmuch as this is a matter of choiceobvious to one skilled in the art. Also, as is well known in the burnerart, the thermocouple tube 100 is cross-connected to a gas shutoff valvewhereby the supply of gas to the pilot light 95 will normally be closedin the event that the pilot light goes out. The pilot light 95- burns inan air chamber 101 which has on its upper end a screened vent 102 and onits lower end a nipple 104 leading into the mixing chamber 105 of thetorch 94. Gas and air are led through pipeline 74 into the gas and airchamber 106 which is disposed around the air chamber 101. When the unit10 is not in use, fumes from the gas pilot light 95 escape through thescreened vent 102. However, when the unit is in use, moving air inchamber 105 produced by the intake fan 55 draws the flame emitted fromthe gas pilot light 95 through the nipple 104 by a venturi effect andthe fumes are thus exhausted from the unit as previously described. Whenthe burning action is to take effect and the gas solenoid is opened toadmit gas into the pipeline 74, the mixture is ignited as it is expelledfrom the lower end of the torch 94 by the flame from the gas pilot light95.

The wiring diagram as shown in FIGURE 11 for the gas pilot lightignition is essentially the same as shown in FIGURE 12 for the sparkerignition except that the sparker 71, the transformer 34, the relay timedelay switch 86 and the flame sensor 75 have been eliminated.

In essence, the same sequence of events will occur. When the cover 11 isopened, and panel switch 76 pressed to the rear, doors 16 open and thefan 52 is actuated to pull air from the bowl down in the unit andexhaust same while at the same time cooling the unit and eliminatingfrom the area any unpleasant odors which may be caused by the excreta.When sanitary measures have been completed, and the cover 11 is closed,the fan continues to run for a period because of the time delay switch79 and at the same time the water solenoid 21 is allowed to open for onesecond in order to flush the bowl with approxi mately four ounces ofwater. Electrical current through the door close limit switch 81 causesthe motor to actuate and close the doors 16 and when the doors areclosed, the door close limit switch 81 terminates the electricalconnection to the door motor 35 thereby causing it to stop andelectrical current is introduced to the gas solenoid 75 so that gasenters the firebox 15 for the combustion as previously indicated. Whencombustion of solid excreta and evaporation of the liquid excreta andcleaning water are completed, the temperature Within the interior of thefirebox rises so that probe 77 indicates a temperature of 800 F. thustripping the high temperature control switch 78. It will be noted thatthe high temperature control switch also has a connection to the dooropen limit switch and it will be understood that the high temperaturecontrol switch 73, once tripped, will not be reset until the door openlimit switch is actuated by opening of the doors 16. In the meanwhile,the fan 52 continues to run until the temperature of the exhaust issufficiently low to open the thermal switch 84 at which time the unitceases to operate until again used.

It will be appreciated that the wiring diagrams 11 and 12 are forillustration purposes only and that there are a number of suitablecircuits as would occur to one skilled in the art. Furthermore, forcertain applications it may be considered desirable to employ apneumatic system whereby the various elements are actuated by knownpneumatic equivalents.

The unit as disclosed herein may be used more or less continuously. Inthe event of the interruption of the combustion by the re-use of theunit immediately following earlier use, it will be appreciated that thefan will expel foul odors from the vicinity of the unit and that thedisposal from each of the uses will eventually be eliminated bycombustion. In the event, however, it is desired that the unit not bere-used until the earlier disposal is complete and the firebox 15 hasbeen cooled, this can be easily accomplished by placing a thermostaticcontrol to the line leading to the door open limit switch 80 whereby thedoor motor will not be actuated to open the door 16 until the fan 52 hasstopped and the firebox 15 is sufliciently cool. Such a thermocouple mayof course be short-circuited by a switch response to substantially theWeight on the toilet seat 12 or by a switch provided for such purposeout of the reach of children.

The products exhausted from the unit 10 comprise mainly water vapor,carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. By known techniques, the exhaust may beused for heating purposes and the water may be condensed for furtheruse.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, for modifications will be obvious to those skilled in theart.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A unit for disposal of excrement which comprises a bowl, liquidcleansing means selectively rinsing said bowl with a predeterminedamount of liquid, a combustion chamber underlying said bowl, closuremeans for said combustion chamber disposed between the lower part ofsaid bowl and said combustion chamber, said closure means selectivelyopened to permit passage of said liquid and excrement, a grate in saidcombustion chamber disposed above the bottom thereof to receive solidexcrement with said liquid and liquid excrement being received on saidbottom, heat producing means directing flame towards the bottom of saidcombustion chamber and thence through said grate to effect thecombustion of said excrement and the evaporation of said liquid,temperature sensing means associated with said combustion chamberadapted to close off said heat producing means when the temperature ofthe products of combustion from said grate rises to a predeterminedlevel, and outlet means from said combustion chamber for the evacuationof the products of combustion and evaporation from said combustionchamber.

2. A unit for the disposal of excrement which comprises a bowl, liquidcleansing means selectively rinsing '8 and excrement, a grate in saidcombustion chamber disposed above the bottom thereof to receive solidexcrement with said liquid and liquid excrement being received on thebottom of said combustion chamber under said grate, a gas torch receivedin the upper par-t of said combustion chamber, said torch directingflame towards the bottom of said combustion chamber and thence throughsaid grate to effect the combustion of said excrement and theevaporation of said liquid, temperature sensing means associated wit-hsaid combustion chamber adapted to close ofi said gas torch when thetemperature of the products of combustion from said grate rises to apredetermined level, and an outlet means from said combustion chamberevacuating the products of combustion and evaporation from saidcombustion chamber.

3. A unit in accordance with claim 2, wherein deflection means isincluded within said combustion chamber whereby said flame is deflectedto under said grate whereby heat from said flame will rise under saidsolid excrement.

4. A unit for disposal of excrement which comprises a bowl, a combustionchamber, closure means for said combustion chamber disposed between thelower part of said bowl and said combustion chamber, air channels withinsaid closure means extending therethrough, air passageways surroundingthe sides of said combustion chamber, and fan means inducing the flow ofair through said air channels and said passageways, said air flowremoving heat radiating from said combustion chamber.

:5. A unit in accordance with claim 4 wherein the products of combustionfrom said combustion chamber are mixed with said air flow in said airpassageways.

6. A unit in accordance with claim 5 wherein a predetermined quantity ofcleaning liquid is introduced into said bowl to discharge therefrom intothe bottom of said combustion chamber.

7. A method for preventing overheating of structural materials withinthe combustion chamber of a unit for the disposal of waste materials ofsubstantially endothermic nature comprising the introduction of -apredetermined quantity of non-inflammable liquid to cover the bottom ofsaid combustion chamber, placing said waste material on a grate abovesaid liquid, continuously introducing with air a burning fuel into saidchamber at a suificiently high temperature to consume said wastematerial and evaporate said liquid, the temperature in said chamberbeing repressed by said consumption and said evaporation until saidliquid and said material is changed to a gaseous state, and thenterminating the introduction of further fuel into said combustionchamber by means responsive to a predetermined temperature within saidunit which is above that necessary to effect the consumption ofsubstantially all of said waste matter and under that detrimental to thestructural material of said unit.

8. A method in accordance with claim 7 wherein said predeterminedtemperature is substantially 800 F.

9. A method in accordance with claim 7 wherein said non-inflammableliquid includes water, and said material at substantially endothermicnature comprises solid excreta.

10. A unit for the disposal of human excrement which comprises a toiletbowl, said toilet bowl being opened in its bottom, conduit meanscarrying water under pressure to said bowl, a discharge outlet from'saidconduit means into said bowl, said outlet adapted to discharge watersubstantially horizontally and tangentially with respect to the interiorsurface of said bowl, valve means incorporated in said conduit meansadapted to admit a predetermined quantity of water into said bowl, acombustion chamber underlying said bowl, a movable door selectivelycovering the top of said combustion chamber, the interior of saidcombustion chamber flaring outwardly from the bottom thereof, a grate insaid combustion chamber disposed above the bottom thereof and adapted toreceive solid excrement and permit the passage of said water and liquidexcrement to the bottom of said combustion chamher, a gas torch receivedin the upper portion of said combustion chamber adapted to concentrateflame from said torch under said grate, a gas conduit leading to saidtorch, a cutoff valve in said conduit, air ducts surrounding saidcombustion chamber, air movement means adapted to introduce air intosaid combustion chamber and exhaust same through said ducts, andtemperature sensing means associated with said combutsion chamberadapted to close said shutoff valve when the temperature in saidcombustion chamber is a predetermined level.

11. A unit in accordance with claim .10 wherein said bowl is composed ofstainless steel.

12. A unit in accordance with claim 410 wherein said discharge outletdischarges water into said bowl in opposite directions.

13. A unit in accordance with claim 10 wherein said air movement meanscomprises a fan, said fan introducing air into said combustion chamberand also conveying a mixture of cool air and exhaust from saidcombustion chamber.

14. A unit in accordance with claim 13 wherein said fan is a rotary fan.

15. A unit in accordance with claim 10 including a hingeable cover oversaid bowl, actuation means responsive to closing said cover, saidactuation means opening said valve means closing said door and openingsaid shutoff valve when said cover is closed.

16. A unit in accordance with claim 15 including ignition means, saidignition means igniting gas admitted to said combustion chamber fromsaid torch when said cover is closed.

17. A unit in accordance with claim 16 wherein said ignition meanscomprises a pilot flame.

.18. A unit in accordance with claim 16 wherein said ignition meanscomprises an electric sparker.

19. A unit in accordance with claim 10 wherein said predetermined amountof temperature is substantially 800 F.

20. A unit in accordance with claim 10 wherein the interior of saidcombustion chamber is substantially in the shape of an invertedtruncated pyramid.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,768,386 10/1956Graef et al. 9 X 2,882,534 4/1959 Jauch et a1 1109 X 2,903,709 9/1959Blankenship et a1. 1l09 X 2,995,097 8/ 1961 Kruckenberg et a1 1 10-93,103,017 9/1963 'La Mere 1=10-9 X 3,133,291 5/1964 Anderson et al 1109X 3,139,626 7/1964 Blankenship 110-9 X JAMES W. WESTHAVER, PrimaryExaminer.

1. A UNIT FOR DISPOSAL OF EXCREMENT WHICH COMPRISES A BOWL, LIQUIDCLEANSING MEANS SELECTIVELY RINSING SAID BOWL WITH A PREDETERMINEDAMOUNT OF LIQUID, A COMBUSTION CHAMBER UNDERLYING SAID BOWL, CLOSUREMEANS FOR SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER DISPOSED BETWEEN THE LOWER PART OFSAID BOWL AND SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBER, SAID CLOSURE MEANS SELECTIVELYOPENED TO PERMIT PASSAGE OF SAID LIQUID AND EXCREMENT, A GRATE IN SAIDCOMBUSTION CHAMBER DISPOSED ABOVE THE BOTTOM THEREOF TO RECEIVE SOLIDEXCREMENT WITH SAID LIQUID AND LIQUID EXCREMENT BEING RECEIVED ON SAIDBOTTOM, HEAT PRODUCING MEANS DIRECTING FLAME TOWARDS THE BOTTOM OF SAIDCOMBUSTION CHAMBER AND THENCE THROUGH SAID GRATE TO EFFECT THECOMBUSTION OF SAID EXCREMENT AND THE EVAPORATION OF SAID LIQUID,TEMPERATURE SENSING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID COMBUSTION CHAMBERADAPTED TO CLOSE OFF SAID HEAT PRODUCING MEANS WHEN THE